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We here at Security Systems News are excited to announce the dates and location for Cloud+ 2018, which will be held in beautiful Delray Beach, Fla., on September 5-6. The conference will take place at the Delray Beach Marriott—an intimate, Mediterranean-style hotel located on the Gold Coast at the corner of A1A - Ocean Boulevard and famed Atlantic Avenue, located directly across the street from the beach. This is also the same location where we host our TechSec Solutions conference each year.

Last year’s Cloud+ education program received high marks from attendees, and we are hard at work putting together another top-notch program that makes Cloud+ the education destination for those who are pioneering within the cloud community.

Click here for more info on the conference, the location and to see last year’s program and speakers, who are the “who’s who” of the industry. And stay tuned for more on the show, including announcements of the keynote speaker and full education program.

BALA CYNWYD, Pa. and PETALUMA, Calif.—Connect America, a large independent provider of PERS devices in North America, in early April announced that it acquired the Petaluma Health Care District's (PHCD) Medical Alert System Program, Lifeline of the North Bay, based in Petaluma, Calif.

“Lifeline of the North Bay will become Connect America West and serve as a base to expand the reach of Connect America's Healthcare Division throughout the state of California, bringing medical alert and mobile alert products, as well as Telehealth services, remote patient monitoring and medication dispensing systems, to a broader range of customers,” Connect America said in its announcement.

"Our Healthcare Division will continue to add to our nationwide footprint through similar acquisitions, as well as organic growth through our sales team," Richard Brooks, Healthcare Division president for Connect America, said in a prepared statement. "Strategic acquisitions like Lifeline of the North Bay, a premier Medical Alert System Program in California, enable us to establish a presence as a market leader in each new area that we enter and to build on the strength of the reputation and referral network of the companies that we acquire."

Ramona Faith, PHCD's CEO said in the announcement, "Transitioning our program and current dedicated staff to Connect America, a leader and long-time provider in the life safety industry, will bring our subscribers and providers a wealth of systems upgrades, including the latest advancements in technology and monitoring services, as well as new services to enhance their experiences over the long term. We are proud to have built a strong, life-saving system led by dedicated staff serving six North Bay Area counties, and we are thrilled to have attracted Connect America to acquire and advance our program."

ISC West 2018, held in Las Vegas, April 10-13, continued to build on the momentum it has built up over the past few years. From the educational sessions, many of which were standing-room-only, to a crowded and buzzing trade show floor, this year’s ISC West did not disappoint. Will Wise and Sherida Sessa from ISC Security Events confirmed my initial impressions of the show during our video interview for ssnTV on the ISC West Main Stage, noting that although they didn’t have final numbers yet, “key metrics” indicate that attendance is up again this year, in addition to an increase in the total number of exhibitors and new companies exhibiting.

In addition to the many video interviews I was able to do for ssnTV on the ISC West Main Stage, I was able to visit a number of booths throughout the week, as well as attend many key events and meetings led by industry leaders. The following is a recap of my time at ISC West.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Arriving on Monday proved wise, as I was able to attend some interesting educational sessions led by both SIA and PSA, which hosted a full day of educational sessions on Tuesday, many focused on leadership and helping integrators build and grow their businesses. For example, Chris Peterson, co-founder and principal, Vector Firm, presented a session, “Building Managed Service into your Business - Benefits to you and the Customer,” and Paul Boucherle, principal/founder, Matterhorn Consulting LLC, presented, “The Key to Executing Business Strategy.”

The SIA educational sessions I was able attend were spot on, including one of the most popular sessions on Tuesday, “The Future of Physical Security: The Decade Ahead,” presented by Terry Gold, principal analyst, D6 Research, who looked at how physical security will significantly change over the next decade, mostly defined by end users looking for value and comprehensive solutions that address both the physical and IT challenges faced today.

As has become a tradition at ISC West, I began Wednesday bright and early with the great folks at Axis Communications, which hosted its 11th annual press breakfast. Celebrating 30 years as a company here in the U.S., Fredrik Nilsson, VP Americas, and Martin Gren, founder, led us through a fun game of security-themed Jeopardy, with questions and answers that highlighted the many video and other product accomplishments the company has made over its storied history. In addition to “being an innovator” in the video space, Gren noted that IP audio provides a “huge opportunity for us to grow,” as the company continues to add new products within this category.

At the Feenics press event, the company made a couple of big announcements, including the steps it has taken in the area of cybersecurity, as well as its new pricing structure. Company president Denis Hebert pointed out that Keep by Feenics’ API service has achieved VerAfied certification by Veracode. He also outlined the company’s new pricing approach, Transaction-based Pricing, for large-scale enterprise installations or VAR’s running managed service operations. As Hebert noted, “The client only pays for what they use.”

At the Robotic Assistance Devices press event, company president and founder, Steve Reinharz, unveiled RAD’s newest artificially intelligent guarding solution—the Security Control and Observation Tower or SCOT—a standalone, remote, portable, self-sufficient intelligence observation tower designed to expand an organization's security reach instantly. SCOT, combined with the company’s robots, are part of what Reinharz calls a “paradigm shift for the industry,” which is beginning to leverage AI and robotics as a force multiplier within many verticals.

Moving to the ACRE booth, I was able to chat with Kim Loy and Joe Grillo about both the Vanderbilt and COMNET brands, and how the two “complement” each other nicely. They also gave me an update on Vanderbilt’s ACT365, a Cloud-based access control and video management solution that is now launched here in the U.S. after success globally. The company will be making “a big push” this year with ACT365 both here in the U.S. and globally, they said.

At the ASSA ABLOY booth, I attended the company’s press event, which was led by Mark Duato, executive vice president, aftermarket, ASSA ABLOY who provided an overview of the company’s strategy to stay at the forefront of innovation within access control. The company made several announcements during the show, including a new Intelligent Keys certification program developed to connect systems integrators with more business opportunities as well as a recurring revenue model for integration businesses. The company also announced new partnerships with Averics, BluB0X, Dot Origin, Identiv and Viscount.

Alarm.com made a big splash this year with the announcement of its “Alarm.com for Business,” a solution for the SMB market that the company unveiled just before the show. Matthew Zartman, director of communications, walked me through the new solution, which combines intelligent intrusion detection, video surveillance, access control and energy management into a single solution that is controlled through Alarm.com’s app. Zartman noted the focus is on “making it easy for dealers” to get more business, specifically on the commercial side.

At the Eagle Eye Systems booth, I chatted with company founder Dean Drako about the company’s “continued growth,” as well as many new announcements at the show, including the company’s new HD video over coax solution; a globalization project to meet the needs of multi-national customers; enhanced video analytics offered within the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS; and a partnership with Hikvision USA to extend the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera Video Management System to include body worn cameras.

Over at the Genetec booth, I had a great conversation with Genetec VP of marketing Andrew Elvish, who spoke about the company’s commitment and focus on the cybersecurity of its products and partners, as well as how the company is working closely with end users and integrators to meet their needs. The company highlighted its new range of market-specific solutions developed to address the needs of airports, cities, educational institutions, retailers, and transportation customers. Elvish also spoke about how Genetec is helping its North American security directors to get ready for the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Visiting the Hanwha Techwin booth, Miguel Lazatin, director of product and channel marketing, North America, updated me on the company’s continued evolution and growth over the past year. Lazatin said the company continues to “make huge investments in people and products.” The company announced five new IP-based Wisenet thermal cameras as well as a new line of mobile cameras, both of which are new categories for the company, Lazatin noted. The company also unveiled new multi-sensor camera options.

At the ISONAS booth, Melissa Stenger, VP of product management and marketing, and Rob Lydic, Global VP of Sales, talked with me about the evolution of the company’s IP access control solution and its hyper focus on cybersecurity and network protection, including ongoing PEN testing and third party testing of its products and systems. The company launched its IP-Bridge 2.0, a more powerful tool to help migrate old legacy systems into the IP era, including more processing power and additional functionality local to the device. The company also announced a new integration with Genetec software.

Thursday and Friday

Sat down with Kami Dukes, director of business development for AMAG Technology, who walked me through the company’s latest addition to their portfolio, RISK360, a global incident and case management system that investigates and analyzes incidents to help organizations operate more efficiently, save money, enforce compliance and mitigate risk. Dukes pointed out that the key is that RISK360 integrates seamlessly with AMAG’s Symmetry Access Control software, so events in RISK360 are communicated to Symmetry Access Control, and alarms in Symmetry generate events in RISK360.

At the Boon Edam booth, Tracie Thomas, VP of marketing, explained how the company’s “increased brand awareness” has led to “double-digit growth in the U.S.” The company has been growing its enterprise team as it expands on its full range of products that go way beyond the “turnstile” products to a full suite of access control solutions from the exterior of a facility to the most important spaces inside as well. Thomas talked about how the company is allowing security providers to be more proactive and predictive using its solutions to mitigate risk and avoid liability.

I spoke with Galaxy Control Systems’ president Robert Loughlin at their booth about new enhancements and integrations for the company’s flagship System Galaxy on-site access control software, and its cloud-based Cloud Concierge SaaS offering, which has gained tremendous traction with resellers since its introduction last year. Additional news includes the launch of a new A&E Program, and an OEM agreement with an international company based in Singapore to design, develop, manufacture and deliver OEM access control hardware and software that will be white labeled for sale exclusively in the EMEA region.

At the Altronix booth, Kirby Han, art director, gave me an overview of the company’s newest additions and updates to its growing product line, including its Trove series, which has added kits “to help dealers,” Han noted. The Trove Access and Power Integration Solutions simplify board layout and wire management, while providing extreme flexibility and scalability when designing and deploying access systems. Also new are the Altronix Dual Voltage Access Power Controller, which reduces costs and saves valuable enclosure space, and the NetWay Spectrum 2-Port Media Converter/Injector, which converts one fiber cable into two Ethernet ports.

Over at the IrisID booth, I spoke with Mohanned Murad, VP, global sales & business development, who showed me the company’s iCAM M300 Biometric Multimode Android Phone, a SIA New Product Showcase winner in the Mobile Apps category. Murad noted that the goal is to create the most “non-frictional biometric” as possible, providing a reliable and cyber-secure mobile app that is cloud-based and offers an easy path to a mobile credential solution for all levels of security, including critical infrastructure.

At the Lenel booth, Ross McKay, director of products, spoke about how the company continues to focus on leveraging the cloud, providing more browser-based products and developing reliable and safe mobile credentials. Key Lenel products showcased includeOnGuard version 7.4, which supports several browser-based clients, eliminating the need for onsite server hardware; the LNL-4420 intelligent controller, which has been added to the GSA’s approved product list for use by agencies implementing programs to meet Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management (FICAM) requirements; and a new version of the BlueDiamond app that can anticipate users’ door and reader selections to reduce authentication time.

I sat down at the Pivot3 booth with Bruce Milne, VP & chief marketing officer, and John D’Avolio, analyst relations director, who both spoke about how the company continues to partner with other companies to provide “end to end” solutions for their customers. Milne listed companies like Lenovo, Hytrust and Iron Mountain as key partnerships toward that goal. For example, he pointed to how the partnership with Iron Mountain led to the introduction of Iron Cloud, which delivers a secure and scalable cloud-based solution for managing video content.

At the OnSSI booth, I spoke with Ken Lamarca, VP, sales and marketing, who noted that “business is strong” as the company showcased its latest Ocularis 5.5 Video Management Software (VMS) platform, which includes new integrations and automation functions that increase overall performance and cost-efficiency. Lamarca said the platform uses the “highest encryption” standards available as well as proven hardening protocols. The company also highlighted several partnerships, including with ConvergenceTP (C2P), CyberExtruder, Jemez Technology and NetApp.

At the Oncam booth, I chatted with Jumbi Edulbehram, regional VP, Americas, about the company’s growth and increased demand for 180- and 360-degree video solutions that deliver “higher levels of situational awareness” than traditional fixed cameras. He also highlighted the introduction of the Evolution Stainless Steel form factor in both the 5MP and 12MP versions to meet the needs of customers operating in extreme environments where resilience and compliance to stringent regulations are critical. The company also launched its revamped Technology Integration Partner Program, which is built to ease integration with Oncam technologies and provide extensive support to aligned technology partners.

Over at the Manything… booth, Laura O’Sullivan, head of marketing, and James West, CEO & Co-Founder, talked about how the company is responding to the needs of integrators, developing a “much cheaper pricing” model that “integrators love,” West noted. Manything, which began as an app allowing users to turn spare smartphones and tablets into home security cameras, has now grown to empower professional security dealers and integrators to offer remote viewing and offsite cloud surveillance recording, creating a new source of RMR, he noted. The company also unveiled its Manything Pro, a cloud SaaS solution that allows users to access their video through an Apple or Android mobile app.

NOTE: In addition to daily reports, look for ssnTV video interviews from the show floor under the Video tab on this website, including top execs from Brivo, Northland Controls, ONVIF, ISC Security Events, IHS Markit, Bates Security, and many more.

Just before the show floor opened I met with some of the FLIR team. Brian Karas, the company's director of vertical market development, to hear a bit about the cameras FLIR plans to release later this year.

On the show floor I stopped by the MKS booth. The company recently announced a revamped approach to its dealer education, Micro Key University, and that has been going well, according to Joe Ligouri, company COO and CFO. “We’ve put out our first few videos and we’ve gotten some positive feedback from our customers,” he said.

At ISC West this year, mPERS manufacturer Freeus, announced the latest iteration of its Bell mPERS offering. Brock Winzeler, Freeus’ COO, discussed the newest features to the updated product including a 4G LTE connection, smaller size, reduced weight, and announcements to the user, such as letting them know the unit is charging, among other new features and aspects. Winzeler said the roll out is coming at the end of Q2.

I then met with Jim McMullen, president and COO of COPS Monitoring and David Smith, COPS Monitoring’s VP of marketing and business development. McMullen mentioned that while at the show, Lydia Security Monitoring’s brands collectively passed the 3 million account mark. McMullen also mentioned the company’s recent focus on PERS and mPERS technologies.

I stopped by the Rapid Response Monitoring booth on the show floor and caught up with Christopher Denniston, the company’s director of marketing and contract development. He was positive on the turnout for the show this year and stated that they had the opportunity to introduce their latest innovations to many dealers and integrators. “In the past 12 months we have added 30+ new services and feature integrations. This year’s show attendance allowed us to widely spread the word on these solutions, further existing dealer relationships and start new partnerships” Denniston said in an email interview after the show.

From there I went to see Arecont Vision. Jeff Whitney, VP of marketing, showed me some of the latest offerings from the company announced at the show. Arecont is rolling out a new line of cameras, its Contera line, as well as its own software solution, ConteraVMS, a cloud managed recorder, Contera CMR, and a web service, ConteraWS.

My last meeting of this year’s show was with I-View Now; I got the chance to catch up with I-View’s president Larry Folsom. I-View Now has created a couple new integrations, including with Mastermind—along with a new service that will allow end users through Mastermind to cancel alarms request dispatch or call the operator in the event of an alarm. The company will also be able to connect with Ezviz cameras, a self-installed line, and act as the conduit for alarm and video to a monitoring center. On Thursday, I met with Marek Robinson, who recently joined the company to lead its dealer program and dealer engagement.

ISC West 2018 was a great show this year. As always, it was great catching up with professionals I’ve known since I started in the industry and meeting new faces.

Thursday

While the show floor has a nice buzz of excitement, new technology, and the chance to meet face-to-face with professionals I haven’t seen in a while, it’s always nice to get out for some fresh air with the Security 5k/2k. It was a bit windy, but the sun was bright and it was a warm morning walk.

Back in the ISC West exhibit room, I first met with Keith Deaton, the recently appointed COO of Sargent and Greenleaf. Deaton gave me an overview of some of the company’s solutions, such as the A-Series ATM lock that has a larger display which can offer more information to a technician.

Courtney Brown, Security Central’s president and owner, greeted me at the company’s booth. I also spoke with Jamie Byrd, Security Central’s service delivery manager, and Craig Swallow, managing director for SoloProtect—a personal safety device designed for discreet alerting and monitoring escalating situations. The two companies recently formed a partnership, aided by SoloProtect’s integration into Bold’s automation. The device, which also holds an ID card, can alert a monitoring center of a user’s potential risk. SoloProtect’s device can then transmit audio for an operator to listen to and decide on further action.

At the Honeywell booth I met with Bruce Anderson, director of external communications and social media, Trent Perrotto, senior manager external communications and media, Michael Coniff, global product marketing manager, and Jay Ramachandran, director of product marketing. Ramachandran showed me some features of the company’s upcoming residential platform, which will aid dealers and alarm users through having an easy process for users replacing components. Coniff gave me a demo of MaxProCloud and its updated interface.

Each year, Security Systems News does on-camera video interviews at ISC West. This year I interviewed Brian McLaughlin, CEO of Alula, the new brand for Resolution Products and ipDatatel; Mitch Klein of the Z-Wave Alliance; Joey Rao-Russell, PPVAR’s vice president; Matt Narowski, Bold Technologies’ VP of operations; and Avigilon’s president and COO, James Henderson.

You can look forward to those videos being posted on SSN’s website in the coming weeks.

Mike Zydor, Affiliated Monitoring’s managing director, and Daniel Oppenheim, Affiliated Monitoring’s EVP, talked with me about the effort the company has put into its relatively new Texas facility, which is redundant and load sharing with the company’s main facility in New Jersey. Oppenheim highlighted three key trends he sees for Affiliated: PERS and mPERS, interactive video, and further development of its software.

I then went to meet with Justin Bailey, president and COO at AvantGuard Monitoring. Bailey mentioned that the company has had a strong start to 2018, adding on large dealers. He said that the company has been working with dealers on its hybrid monitoring options, which allow flexibility in control over monitoring, with options like part-time monitoring from an alarm dealer’s facility and the other part with AvantGuard.

At the CMS booth, I was able to catch up with Tony Wilson, president, and Jennifer Marshall, CMS’ marketing and communications manager. I also got to meet Heidi Hicks, the company’s business operations manager. The three of them outlined for me CMS Message Center—a live answering service now integrated into its CMS Compass dealer portal. Wilson, Marshall and Hicks also went over the company’s integration to monitor Reemo Health, a mobile health platform designed into a watch—the company’s first step into mPERS-style solutions.

My last stop for the day was the Dahua booth, where I met Tim Shen, marketing director, Jennifer Hackenburg, product marketing manager, and Rebecca Colesen, digital marketing specialist. The three of them went over some of Dahua’s working on, like AI built into cameras, showcasing uses with facial recognition and traffic at the booth.

Wednesday

My first show floor meeting of this year’s ISC West was with video and IoT platform provider Gorilla Technology and the company’s CEO Dr. Spincer Koh and Gorilla’s senior business development manager, Winnie Koh.

I spoke with Spincer Koh more recently on the company’s Security Convergence Platform that compiles data from cyber- and physical security sources. On the show floor it was great to see how Gorilla’s platform helped with a string of ATM hackings.

My next meeting was with Cliff Dice, president and CEO of DICE Corp. DICE’s sister company IPtelX, an alarm industry focused telecom, has now passed two million subscribers, Dice told me on the show floor.

I also caught up with DICE’s vice president of operations, James Beaty. He told me about the similarities and differences between the new SMS Check-In mass notification system that DICE announced recently and other SMS capabilities the company has developed.

At Milestone’s booth I met with Courtney Dillon Pedersen, the company’s communications manager for the Americas. We talked a bit about the positive feedback the company has gotten following its MIPS 2018 event.

Mitchell Klein, executive director of the Z-wave Alliance talked with me about Z-Wave’s approach and purpose at an event like ISC West. One is to promote the products of participating alliance members to the dealers in attendance; another is to represent the ecosystem that Z-Wave technologies create, showing the value to other potential partners.

IC Realtime earlier this year announced the company’s new video search platform that uses natural language called Ella. Andrew Nassar, the company’s general manager, talked with me about the new dealer portal for the Ella system. The company announced the new portal on Tuesday of this week, which is entirely separate from IC Realtime’s portal for its current dealers; a dealer doesn’t need to sell IC Realtime’s other products in order to access the Ella portal.

At ADT’s booth I got to meet with Bob Tucker, ADT’s public relations director, Joe Nuccio, president of dealer partnership for ADT, Ken Rosen, senior director of training and recruiting, and Muawia Bishr, president of MAGNA Smart Home, a new ADT Dealer. Together, they gave me a picture of what it is like to be a new authorized dealer for ADT, such as the benefit of having a strongly recognized brand.

From there I went to the Bosch booth, which was quite abuzz with a variety of products, demonstrations and new booth features. I first spoke with Paul Garms, director—regional marketing, intrusion, for the company. Garms talked a bit about how the company has utilized cloud connectivity in some of its products to ease installs for Bosch’s dealers. Sean Murphy, Bosch’s director of marketing for North America, video products, showed me through a new feature to the booth: an interactive marketplace where attendees can get beverages or food while seeing real world applications for Bosch solutions in retail, loss prevention and marketing environments.

At the Mivatek booth I got to speak with Joe Liu, company CEO. Liu outlined some of the big changes for the company, such as switching to solely OEMing products and changing the name to “Mivatek Smart Connect,” among others. Switching to be entirely an OEM allows the company to focus more on engineering instead of channel branding, Liu explained.

From there I stopped by the Kwikset booth. Chris Hummel, territory manager—Northeast, gave me an overview of five new locks that were either recently released or would be released in coming weeks, including its Obsidian lock and Convert conversion kit to change a normal deadbolt into a smart lock.

MONI in late February announced an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement, which would result in the company completely rebranding to BRINKS Home Security. This branding was present at ISC West this year, with the name all over the company’s booth. Jeff Gardner, CEO for MONI—now BRINKS Home Security told me that this is the first public appearance of the new name, and that a full rollout of the brand is planned for May.

I walked over to the Nortek booth where Bill Hensley, senior director of marketing, and Anu Herranen, director of marketing and branding, gave me a tour of this year’s booth. Herannen and Hensley highlighted a range of new products, including several new sensors—such as the Stove & Grill Guard, gate and driveway sensor, water sensor, outdoor door and window sensor and a trigger lock sensor—as well as the DIY installed and professionally monitored 2GIG Rely system.

My last meeting on the show floor was with EMERgency24, where I met with Kevin Lehan, public relations manager and branch manager, Kevin McCarthy, national sales manager, and Baird Larson, vice president and director of technology. Lehan said that while the company highlights its new offerings it also wants to convey the strength of its core monitoring capabilities.

Tuesday

I attended the DMP Owners’ Forum this year, held at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center, an interesting building designed by architect Frank Gehry. The building features 75-foot ceilings and 199 windows, no two of which are the exact same in shape or size.

Jon Adams, DMP’s dealer development manager—Southern California, was the host of the forum this year. He took the stage to kick off the event by welcoming all the attendees and giving each person the chance to introduce themselves.

The first keynote was presented by Jason Young, the president of LeadSmart Inc., as well as an author, consultant and trainer. Young discussed different states of being for employees, they can be either low or high in fulfillment, and low or high in performance. The ideal would be an employee who has a high sense of fulfillment as well as a high performance.

Company culture was a main point for Young. He compared, in one instance, the culture of a company to a tree; it is deep rooted, but what is above the surface (the employees) is the part most people see.

In his presentation Young drew from his experiences as a trainer with Southwest Airlines, a company with a clearly defined vision, purpose and mission around industry excellence and appealing customer service.

In creating a culture of service, Young highlighted two elements: cost and distinction. The costs for a company are easily measured, while creating distinction is more subjective and takes effort.

Next, Richard Turner presented “D.E.A.L.T.,” which stands for the dreams, excellence, analysis, loyalty and tenacity need to achieve things in life.

Turner is a card mechanic, with the ability to manipulate a deck of cards for a desired effect. Turner gave a variety of examples, dealing out winning hands, shuffling a deck of cards in each hand, and shuffling a deck back to its original order—four intact progressions from ace through king.

The difficulty of each maneuver was made more impressive by the fact that Turner lost his vision when he was younger.

Turner told stories about other instances in his life, such as in gaining a black belt in karate, where he applied himself. Everyone is dealt a hand in life, sometimes a bad hand, but they choose how to play it, he said.

“In the game of life, stay focused on your game,” said Turner.

Jeff Britton, DMP’s vice president of product design, took the stage to discuss some of the company’s newest developments, including a new integration with the Ring doorbell through DMP’s Virtual Keypad app. The integration also allows DMP to work with Ring cameras, Britton noted.

Jeffrey Cummings is the director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, named after Lou Ruvo who died of Alzheimer’s in 1994. The Cleveland Clinic facility collocated with the Keep Memory Alive Event Center.

Cummings gave an overview of the work that the center does to help put patients first, such as eliminating waiting rooms and focusing on hospital training. The center studies a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, which includes people with Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis as well as boxers and MMA fighters.

Proceeds from events held in the Keep Memory Alive Event Center go to help the research, treatment and clinical studies of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center.

Throughout the event, attendees were shown brief videos that outlined features of DMP’s Virtual Keypad Access, which provides users with a cloud-based access control interface. Several new features for this offering were announced at the forum. Brad Tucker, DMP director of product management and support highlighted some of these, including the recently announced holiday dates feature, allowing users to create exceptions or permissions specific to certain days.

Another new feature is a users page that allows for all users of a system to be managed through the interface. “We’re very excited about this new feature,” Tucker said.

The final keynote for the day was delivered by author Cy Wakeman. She advised the audience on the potential negative impacts—lost work hours—that come through drama in an office. The average person spends about two and a half hours per day in drama at work per day, she said, and that totals up to 816 lost hours per year.

Wakeman leveraged her background as a therapist and a human resources specialist to illustrate the ways in which drama manifests. An employee, for instance, can focus too much on the circumstances of their work situation—elements that may be beyond their control—such as the company’s need to move their department.

An employee expending considerable energy on combating a perceived problem hurts the objective of the company, whereas taking that same energy and working with company leadership eliminates drama and helps the business’ goals.

Each of the speakers had a valuable message for attendees, and I’m glad I was able to attend this year’s DMP Owners’ Forum.

Before the show, Monday

Soon I'll be heading out to Las Vegas for this year's ISC West. I've got a schedule full of meetings on the show floor, including apopintments at the media stage. I look forward to hearing the latest buzz in the industry and seeing what companies are exhibiting this year. Check back here for daily updates about news and events happening around the show!

ACRE, a global leader in providing security products and solutions for the access control, intrusion, smart traffic and video surveillance markets, announced today the promotion of Andrew Acquarulo Jr. to president of ACRE Americas. Ronald Virden, who was recently named ACRE COO, will also assume the role of president of ACRE International. The evolution of the company's leadership roles will allow ACRE to refocus its efforts based on geographic regions, providing greater alignment between its Vanderbilt and ComNet brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and APAC.

Virden, who will assume his expanded role effective June 1, 2018, will be based in Dublin, Ireland, and take over the Vanderbilt CEO role from Joe Grillo, who will continue to serve as ACRE CEO. All of the management of Vanderbilt's international operations, as well as ComNet's UK-based operations, will fall under Virden's purview. Virden will also remain COO of ACRE.

“Joe [Grillo] has had the foresight to create a successful independent security company, and as I contribute to adding to that legacy, it's critical to ensure ACRE continues upon its growth trajectory,” Virden said in the announcement. “I'm eager to take on the additional responsibility as President of ACRE International, focusing on growing and streamlining operations across its global markets.”

As president of ACRE Americas, Acquarulo will be responsible for the strategic vision, operations and sales initiatives for both of the company's ComNet and Vanderbilt brands in the Americas under the ACRE moniker, effective April 1, 2018. Acquarulo has served as president and CEO for ComNet since 2010, leading the company's strategic vision across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and APAC. He played an instrumental role in positioning ComNet into developing more networked-based solutions and guiding it to offer a combination of fiber optic, electrical and wireless solutions to increase options for its global customer base. Acquarulo also helped transition the brand into the ACRE group in 2016.

“As the market continues to transition into one driven by emerging technologies, such as cloud services and intelligent platforms, ACRE is poised to continue its leadership role in these segments,” Acquarulo said in a prepared statement. “This evolution marks a tremendous opportunity for ACRE to extend its leadership position in the industry, and I look forward to being a part of it.”

Acquarulo will oversee sales and revenue growth, and prepare the brands for new expansion opportunities. He will report directly to Grillo and Virden.

“Andy had the foresight to help shift ComNet toward the emerging trends across the security and intelligent transportation systems market long before many of the company's competitors, and Ron brings a significant amount of global executive experience to our team,” said Grillo in the announcement. “ACRE continues to look for ways to streamline operations and make continued investments in its leadership team, which will help propel our brand forward and solidify our strength in the marketplace. We are also interested in positioning the ACRE brand for future expansion that will allow additional revenue streams and the addition of key markets across the globe.”

Founded in 2012, ACRE’s Vanderbilt and ComNet brands deliver advanced solutions to thousands of customers around the world. Today, ACRE employs more than 325 employees in more than 15 countries.

This week Security Systems News welcomed a new team member; Rick Rector is stepping into the role of president and publisher for SSN.

"I'm excited to be working with the talented and dedicated Security Systems News team. And I'm eager to meet as many industry participants as possible at ISC West next week," Rector stated.

While Rick is new to the Security Systems News side, he has worked with United Publications Inc.—SSN’s parent company—since 2000. His career has included positions with media across diverse industries such as gardening and small farming, the State of Maine, international finance, seafood, IT support, gourmet retail food, call centers, fitness clubs and healthcare.

He was a founder and former chairman of the Maine Venture Fund, the venture capital fund of the State of Maine. In addition he was a founder and former executive director of the POPTECH conference, an annual conference exploring the impact of technology on people and society. Currently he serves on the boards of the Points North Institute and the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting as well as the Personnel Board for his town.

BILOXI, Miss.—As SentryNet is preparing to host its 23rd annual SentryCon, in Biloxi, Miss., from April 23-26, I thought it would be a good time to hear more about the event, its history and what the company is planning for this year. Peggy Page, marketing manager for SentryNet, and Julie Beach, STANLEY Security’s vice president of Sonitrol and SentryNet dealers sales, each shared their perspective on the upcoming conference.

Speakers come from both in- and outside of the industry, according to Page. “We bring speakers in from not only the industry but from the business world as well, to teach them not only how to install a product—because we do have a lot of vendors that participate—but how to build their business, how to grow their business, how to hire employees, how to keep employees, how to face attrition and compete against the big-box companies,” she said.

This year’s speakers include Mark Brown, professional speaker from Southwest Consulting. Brown will discuss recognizing challenges and how to overcome them. Ron Davis, president of Davis Mergers and Acquisitions Group, will address the current concerns of alarm dealers.

Bob Harris, president of Attrition Busters, is another speaker for this year’s SentryCon. “He’s a great speaker. He spoke at SentryCon last year, too, and he did such a good job [that] we asked him to come back and give us another presentation on attrition management,” Beach said.

In addition to speaking at SentryCon, Harris will also give a presentation at SentryNet’s ISC West booth this year.

“We have a select group of dealers that we invite to be on our dealer advisory board every year,” Beach said, and a dealer advisory board meeting is held in conjunction with SentryCon each year. “The purpose of our dealer advisory board meeting is just to talk about any trends that we’re seeing in the market, any new type of technologies, maybe new threats. … And then we also talk about enhancements to what SentryNet does.”

Beach added, “It’s a really good opportunity for them to network with each other and learn from each other, and even though a lot of them might be competing in the same markets, they’ve really come to form a pretty good working relationship.”

Time management will be a topic at this year’s SentryCon, according to Page. “One of the biggest complaints of installers is they don’t have time. They don’t have time to learn the new technology, they don’t have time to train new employees, they don’t have time to seek new employees. And it’s not necessarily [that] they don’t have time, they’re just not managing their time very well.”

The event also includes social events tailored to the area around the conference, including a baseball game, fishing and golf outings and skeet shooting.

Last year, SentryCon hosted 200 professionals, which has been typical of the past five years, according to Page. “I’m actually thinking attendance is going to be a little higher this year,” she said. Now have over 225 people registered to attend, Beach said about a month prior to the event.

SentryNet has about 765 dealers, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, according to Page.

“Originally, SentryCon was part of the Mississippi Alarm Association annual event. We hosted jointly with them for probably the first three or four years before we broke off and made it our own event,” said Page.

What do you most hope attendees walk away from the conference with? “That change isn’t as scary as we think it is, and … that if you’re willing to change with the industry, you’re going to be a lot more successful,” Page responded.

Beach said, “I hope that they walk away with something that they didn’t know already, … something that’s going to help them grow their business or do something to keep their business relevant in this fast-changing market.”

School safety grants administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)—a major policy priority for the Security Industry Association (SIA) since 2008—will provide $25 million immediately, and $33 million annually, as provisioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, which was officially signed into law by the president earlier this week.

The new law provides $25 million immediately for school security technology and equipment in addition to emergency communications systems and other coordination with law enforcement to enhance response capabilities. Administered through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), $33 million is authorized annually for the program beginning next year. Overall, the STOP School Violence Act included in the spending measure authorizes a total of nearly $1 billion in funding for DOJ school safety grant programs through 2028.

“As the Congressional Safety Caucus founder and co-chair, I am proud this year’s spending bill included over $2 billion in funding for school safety measures, including the STOP School Violence Act, to provide our nation’s schools with tools and technology needed to keep students and faculty safe so they can learn in a safe environment. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to provide our children and families the peace of mind they deserve,” noted Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks, R-Ind.

As SIA pointed out in its announcement lauding the grant money, federal grant assistance specifically for facility security measures had been unavailable since fiscal 2011. SIA, along with stakeholders representing the law enforcement and education communities including The School Superintendents Association (AASA), the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and other like-minded organizations, worked to support the reviving of this grant assistance, particularly in the aftermath of the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

“SIA commends the leadership of Senator Hatch, R-Utah, and Congressman John Rutherford, R-Fla., in authoring the STOP School Violence Act, and recognizes the unwavering support provided by the Congressional School Safety Caucus led by Congresswoman Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and Congressman Rick Larsen, D-Wash. who authored reauthorization legislation, the School Safety Act, and has led supporting efforts in the House since 2015,” Jake Parker, SIA director of government relations, said in a prepared statement. “As school systems consider investments to improve security, it is critical that finite resources support effective, affordable and appropriate, solutions.”

SIA is a cofounder of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), a consortium of school security experts that developed threat- and income-based guidelines for schools housing grades K-12 to implement appropriate, layered security measures. Those guidelines are available to help guide school investments.

In addition, please participate in SSN’s News Poll this month, which looks at security companies’ role in emergency preparedness and response for schools.

NORTHBROOK, Ill.—Alert Protective Services recently purchased substantially all the assets of Alert Alarm Corporation, based here, which was finalized in February. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The focus is really on making sure there’s no disruption to service, that the new customer base gets to know our friendly and highly skilled staff and becomes familiar with the way to engage with us,” David L. Silberstein, president and CEO of Alert Protective Services, told Security Systems News.

Alert Protective has been implementing new measures to help future growth, both organically and “aggressive pursuit of acquisitions,” according to Silberstein. “Alert Protective Services has invested materially in the last 18 months in operating, accounting, and marketing infrastructure. … The process is fairly seamless for us, given that we have a strong platform to bolt on acquisitions like this,” he said.

“We are opportunistically always in the market for acquisitions and believe we are the perfect partner for owners of alarm companies looking to sell or realize a liquidity event,” said Silberstein.

Alert Protective was founded in 1982, and a majority of the company’s work is residential with a growing commercial division as well. Alert Protective offers smart and interactive alarm systems, fire alarms, video surveillance, intercoms and access control among other services.

Based in Chicago, Alert Protective also has customers in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.

Alert Alarm Corp. has customers in the Chicago area. Silberstein said that Alert Alarm’s mix of residential and commercial customers is similar to Alert Protective’s account base. “It overlapped nicely with our current customer base, but definitely helped in terms of expanding a bit more in the Northshore region of Chicagoland,” Silberstein said.

The companies have “similar DNA,” Silberstein said, both focusing on customer service and providing a company with a local feel.

The two companies even have similar names and branding, Silberstein noted. “Alert Alarm Corp. made the transition to the customer base very simple,” he said.

With April right around the corner and ISC West almost here, we at Security Systems News thought it was the ideal time to highlight the tremendous education program Security Industry Association (SIA) has developed for ISC West 2018. When the industry needs education and guidance now more than ever—to make sense of all of the new technology and trends—ISC West, sponsored by SIA, has stepped up to the plate and delivered.

In preparation for this year’s conference, SIA strove to create an education program that addresses this year’s most significant emerging threats and business opportunities. And following SIA’s research to develop the Security Megatrends—an annual research project that reports on the top trends reshaping the security industry—SIA and ISC West worked together to make sure those themes would be addressed at the 2018 event, particularly as part of the “SIA Education@ISC” lineup.

“A top priority is making education one of the most valuable, robust parts of ISC West,” Don Erickson, CEO of SIA, said in the Megatrends announcement. “We identified these top 10 trends—what we call the Security Megatrends—and reviewed how they would pose significant impacts on 2018’s converged security landscape. We then used these insights to lay the groundwork for the 85+ educational sessions we’re offering at the ISC West show, making it possible for attendees to leave feeling confident and equipped to tackle the emerging security threats, as well as the business challenges and opportunities that inevitably come their way.”

Click here for more detail from SIA's research on each of the 10 Megatrends.

“We’re laser-focused on providing attendees with all-inclusive education at ISC West, which is why we’re thrilled to have SIA as our trusted partner,” Will Wise, group vice president of ISC Security Events, said in the announcement. “These top 10 trends really hit on what’s to come at the show. These themes impact nearly every type of attendee in some way, from government/enterprise security decision-makers and end-users, to integrators, installers and dealers. This year’s show is designed to be the most educational and information-packed yet, and we’re looking forward to seeing the peer-to-peer mindshare that takes place.”

And speaking of education at ISC West, on Wednesday, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., yours truly will be moderating a session, “Seeing is Believing - Drones, Robotics and the Integration of Video Applications,” with a very talented panel that includes Steve Reinharz, president of Robotic Assistance Devices, Jack Wu, co-founder & CEO, Nightingale Security, and Jumbi Edulbehram, regional president, Americas, Oncam. I hope to see you there, or on the trade show floor, or at the great Mission 500 Security 5K/2K charity event on Thursday morning.